Liou Yuan’s ethereal voice floated over the desolate wilderness as he spoke to Liou Tao’s corpse.

The voices were clearly heard by three figures in the distance.

Among them was, of course, the golden-clad youth who had followed all the way.

He looked on as Liou Tao’s head was severed by Liou Yuan, and only then did a satisfied expression appear on his face.

After hearing Liou Yuan’s words, he smirked to himself and said, "Understanding is one thing, but to actually dare to kill Liou Tao, you’re quite ruthless."

The other two were two women who had come together, standing far away from the golden-clad youth, their figures hidden behind a reddish-brown boulder.

One was clad in a blood-stained robe, with features as if painted, lips like flames, bearing a naturally cold demeanor.

The other was a head taller than the blood-clad woman, statuesque and heroic, with a masculine charisma.

The two shared their beauty each in their own way.

If any outer sect disciple were to pass by and see them, they would certainly be astonished.

But after the brief shock, no one would dare to take a second glance.

Because the woman in the blood-stained robe was none other than Yan Yingsi, famed in the Outer Sect of Five Extremes Mountain.

She had slain more than a hundred cultivators, each one a notorious figure registered by the Disciplinary Hall.

The other was Zhao Family’s sole daughter, the prodigy with a Five-Star Star Acupoint, Zhao Feiyue.

The relationship between the two remained unknown, yet they had arrived together.

Their conversation showed they were quite familiar with each other.

"So this is the Liou Yuan you mentioned? He is indeed someone with fire in his veins," Yan Yingsi’s hoarse voice emerged, a sound starkly mismatched with her appearance, every syllable seemingly laborious.

She had also witnessed the entire process of Liou Yuan killing Liou Tao, her blood-tinged eyes fixed on Liou Yuan’s back with admiration and unabashed intrigue.

"Just don’t know if he can walk out of that Spirit Ascension Platform alive."

"With Liou Tao’s Life Mirror shattered, the few Foundation Establishment cultivators from Xiangshan the Liou Family will likely come in full force."

Zhao Feiyue’s brow furrowed, clearly understanding Yan Yingsi’s point.

But she had collaborated with Liou Yuan and understood his character well. After a moment of reflection, she smiled at Yan Yingsi and responded light-heartedly, "Brother Liou Yuan isn’t a reckless person; he always thinks three steps ahead. If he dared to kill Liou Tao, he must have something to rely on."

"What reliance? Snow Shattering Sword, Mr. Liou?" Yan Yingsi mentioned Liou Zhen with rare emotion in her words.

But soon she shook her head, asserting, "Mr. Liou, though strong, is after all too young. The Liou Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators are centuries-old monsters, with both means and combat experience on their side."

"Faced with one Mr. Liou, he may still be unafraid, but against all of them, his life would be at risk."

As she spoke, Yan Yingsi’s blood-hued eyes narrowed, continuing, "Previously, the Liou Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivators were held back by the Sect Leader, afraid to act against Liou Yuan within the sect. Now, with Liou Tao dead, it’s like offering them an excuse to strike."

"This situation has already become unsolvable."

"Mr. Zhao’s advice to stay out of the mess between the two Liou Family factions was correct."

Yan Yingsi, a member of the Disciplinary Hall, was well-informed, not beneath any prominent family, and her tone was extremely affirmative.

Zhao Feiyue remained unconcerned, crossing her arms, her smile unfazed, "Then why not place a bet, betting on whether Brother Liou Yuan can survive?"

"Mr. Yan, do you dare?"

"I wonder where you get this confidence in him," Yan Yingsi stared at Zhao Feiyue for a moment, shook her head, and accepted her bet.

"Since you want to give me money, I’ll take it."

Soon, the two agreed on the terms and stakes of the bet.

Finally, Yan Yingsi’s gaze moved away from Liou Yuan, sweeping through the endless darkness, landing on the golden-clad youth on the other side.

This youth had never concealed his presence, standing confidently there, and Yan Yingsi had already noticed him.

Almost the instant her eyes met his presence.

The golden-clad youth turned his head to look over.

Their gazes collided in mid-air.

The golden-clad youth’s smile remained gentle.

While Yan Yingsi’s eyes blazed with blood-red light, and under Zhao Feiyue’s astonished gaze.

This infamous woman from the Outer Sect actually retreated two steps.

"This place is not suitable for lingering, let’s go!" Yan Yingsi’s tone suddenly grew cold, giving no explanation to Zhao Feiyue, she turned and left.

Zhao Feiyue roughly guessed something and said nothing more, glanced deeply at the golden-clad youth, and hurriedly followed.

The golden-clad youth’s smile instantly froze on his face, then he touched his nose, muttering, "Am I that scary?"

After Liou Yuan killed Liou Tao, he remained standing still, the purple glow in his eyes never fading.

He was acutely aware of how many eyes were watching him, how many people were present.

Neither Yan Yingsi, Zhao Feiyue, nor the golden-clad youth standing openly outside could escape his notice.

However, the Evil Eyes only allowed him to see the spiritual power fluctuations of cultivators, not their actual appearances, so he couldn’t confirm their identities, just vaguely feeling that the spiritual Qi from Zhao Feiyue was familiar.

Thus, until the two women retreated, Liou Yuan never saw their true faces.

Only the golden-clad youth, not only stood out where he was, but the golden-hued clothing on him was even more eye-catching.

Liou Yuan certainly recognized him, this guy was present during his confrontation with Zhan Huaping.

And now he had chased all the way here, making it difficult for Liou Yuan to think well of him.

So after Yan Yingsi and Zhao Feiyue left, Liou Yuan activated his Evil Eyes, looking at this youth.

The Evil Eyes shone brightly, Liou Yuan originally just casually glanced until he saw the youth’s internal spiritual power situation, and his eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.

In his vision through the Evil Eyes.

The handsome youth, who always bore a smile, emanated an unusual golden glow from within.

If the spiritual power fluctuation in Liou Yuan’s body was like a bright lamp, then the youth’s spiritual power intensity was like a furnace.

The surging spiritual power rose like a sun in the night.

"Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer!"

Liou Yuan uttered these four words, and his reaction was the same as Yan Yingsi’s upon seeing the youth, retreating several steps.

It was not the ordinary Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer; Liou Yuan had seen many disciples at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer.

Fan Xinxiao from the Artifact Refining Pavilion and Lao Xiuyuan from the Disciplinary Hall both pale in comparison to the vast spiritual power of this young boy before them.

"Ninth Layer Peak!" Liou Yuan mumbled to himself.

At this age, with such cultivation, only one person in the Outer Sect could possibly match.

The identity of the young man in gold is almost evident.

"That Six-Star Aptitude Immortal Seedling!"

Liou Yuan tightened his grip on the Canglan Sword, every hair on his body stood on end at this moment.

He could defeat Zhan Huaping, but he had no confidence in defeating the young man in gold before him.

He even felt that if this person attacked him, his chances of escaping were slim.

"The outside world still underestimates the terror of the Six-Star Star Acupoint. Two years, and he’s at Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer."

"Oh my goodness."

Liou Yuan didn’t know the temperament of this Six-Star Star Acupoint Immortal Seedling, feeling uneasy at heart.

The young man in gold also cast his gaze over at this moment, even politely cupping his hands in greeting.

This made Liou Yuan’s face stiffen, and then he returned the gesture.

"Thankfully, he is not bloodthirsty." This action allowed Liou Yuan to breathe a sigh of relief.

With the strength of the young man in gold, killing him wouldn’t be difficult, and there was no need to put on airs.

Him not making a move now proved he had no intent to kill.

While Liou Yuan’s full attention was drawn to the young man in gold.

The Fixed Star Compass inside his body suddenly stirred.

In a situation beyond Liou Yuan’s control, it burst forth with brilliance, and Liou Yuan felt a force of attraction emanating from the Compass.

"What’s happening?" Liou Yuan wondered aloud, focusing his mind inward.

He saw the direction where the Compass’s power was gathering, pointing straight at the headless corpse of Liou Tao, whom he had personally beheaded.

The spiritual power within him had long dissipated during this time, returning to the heavens and the earth.

However, as the brilliance of the Compass shone upon it.

A white, misty glow suddenly flickered above the navel area of the headless corpse.

Fortunately, the light from the Fixed Star Compass could only be seen by Liou Yuan.

He wasn’t worried about being seen by the young man in gold, squinting his eyes and pondering over the glow on Liou Tao’s body.

Before he could understand the cause and effect.

Bam! The point of light, drawn by the Compass’s power, flew from Liou Tao’s corpse, heading towards Liou Yuan’s body.

Or rather, heading towards the Fixed Star Compass within him.

The white, fog-like light finally entered his body under Liou Yuan’s watchful eyes.

"Could it be!" Liou Yuan suddenly realized, his expression stunned, and he hurriedly focused his consciousness inward again.

He saw the center of the Fixed Star Compass, due to the entry of the white glow, now rippling with a rich energy fluctuation.

That energy fluctuation was identical to the one Liou Yuan experienced during his previous two star baptisms.

"Star Baptism!" Liou Yuan checked several times to confirm he wasn’t mistaken, the strange look on his face growing stronger.

The Fixed Star Compass always rewarded a star baptism when it slew a Calamity-level Star Evil.

This was the first time he received a star baptism after killing a cultivator.

Moreover, before this, the Fixed Star Compass hadn’t given any hints.

"The Fixed Star Compass usually only exterminates evil spirits, absorbing only their energy. Since when did cultivators fall within its absorption range?"

This point left Liou Yuan utterly baffled.

To be fair, Liou Yuan had taken many lives.

After those deaths, the Fixed Star Compass never reacted this way.

Considering the young man in gold was present, a long observation might raise his suspicion, so Liou Yuan didn’t dare to watch for long before withdrawing his consciousness from within.

Even so, Liou Yuan’s eyes were full of contemplation.

He suspected one possibility, unsure if it was the reason.

"That white fog spot should be his Fog Acupoint, thus it could be converted into star baptism energy."

"Since I share the same bloodline as Liou Tao, his Fog Acupoint can be absorbed by me, which prompted the Fixed Star Compass to take it in and convert it into star baptism?"

This was the only possibility Liou Yuan could think of.

As for whether this was actually the case, it would have to be verified later.

Anyway, getting a free star baptism opportunity put Liou Yuan in a very good mood, making even the young man in gold somewhat pleasing to the eye.

Of course, the gains from killing Liou Tao weren’t just limited to the star baptism.

The storage bag at his waist was happily accepted by Liou Yuan without hesitation.

Having killed, Liou Yuan wasn’t shy about its contents, hanging the storage bag boldly at his waist.

Now wasn’t the time to inventory his spoils.

After doing all this, Liou Yuan turned his attention back to the young man in gold.

The latter was approaching Liou Yuan with slow steps.

Though he hadn’t shown any hostility, his strength was formidable, and seeing him approach made Liou Yuan tense the grip on his Canglan Sword.

The young man in gold seemed aware of his unwelcomeness and stopped about ten zhang away from Liou Yuan.

Liou Yuan heard his clear and gentle voice: "Greetings, Junior Brother. I am Tuoba Xin."

"So his name is Tuoba Xin." Liou Yuan quietly noted his name, then replied softly, "Junior Brother Liou Yuan, I’ve met Mr. Tuoba."

Hearing himself being called "Senior Brother" by Tuoba Xin, a smile appeared in his eyes and brows as he sighed, "This is the first time someone has called me Senior Brother."

"In the Inner Sect, everyone who sees me calls me Little Junior Brother."